One cannot provoke
Pope Frances said “one cannot provoke
one cannot offend” on fifteen January
Freedom, he goes on to say, does not always
apply to all speech
Should we not hear, then, about
Philly’s Natavist riots of eighteen and
fourty four, where not every single
Catholic Church was burned.
Should we know nothing of our
Know nothing movement, wanting to
“ban the Papists”, should we not provoke
the Orangemen, maybe they won’t march this year.
Catholics still cannot marry a member of the
Brit Royal Family
without costing them a crown
costing them a crown
All religions offend someone
As do Agnostics, Atheists, and Pagans
especially the Pagans though we no longer witch burn
just wish we could wish we could
One night I fear to wake up to sounds
the breaking of glass, the smashing of windows
which happened long ago
after words had been chained first,
then the people, then the people
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About bobsmall1
Bob Small has read at Bacchanal, Barnes and Noble, Borders,
The Booksource (Swarthmore), The Clark Park Festivals,Community College of Philadelphia
Highwire Gallery, The Mad Poets Annual Food Fest Reading,
The Middle East Restaurant, Nexus GalleryThe Painted Bride Arts Center,
The Philadelphia Ethical Society, Robin's Bookstore
The University of Pennsylvania and also in New York City,
Trenton, NJ, Washington, DC, and in many Delaware Valley Venues.
He is the author of numerous chapbooks, including
El Otro Lado (with Maralyn Lois Polak), On watching America Die,
Small Steps and Toes (with Lamont B. Steptoe), and The Unapoet.
This is his first Reading in over a year.
Bob Small was Founder and President of the
two decades old Poets and Prophets,
which presented Poetry Readings
in both Delaware County and Philadelphia.
Bob was the Chair of The Delaware County Green Party and was the
First Green Party Candidate in Delaware County (2005).
He was also a Green Party National Delegate, among other duties.
He is the Founder and Facilitator of
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition (PaBac),
which is a Coalition of both Independents and Third Parties.,
seeking to legislatively improve Pennsylvania's Ballot Access Laws. (Facebook)
Bob is also a founding member and
Facilitator of Democracy Unplugged, and Delco Debates,
which has presented Independent and Third Party Forums in Delaware County since 2004. Facebook)
He was formerly involved with Cinema Resistance, and Delco Pledge of Resistance.
Bob currently lives in Swarthmore with his wife
and their menagerie of animals.
He is currently focused on writing a Novel and organizing his Poetry, which he posts on his Blog (Bob Small1). He is retired from most of the above activities, except Delco Debates and Poets and Prophets, which he may return to.
robertthesmall 